Jordan

A Visit to the Lost City of Petra & Wadi Rum Desert

By Wander with Jill

June 13^th, 2019

When I planned my trip to Egypt this past March I knew I had to add in 3 days for a visit to Jordan. Since I was in middle school, I have always been into archeology and ancient sites. This still applies today, so thats why I tend to visit ancient cities or archeological areas during most of my trips. Since Jordan is a short flight from Cairo, I could not pass along visiting the Lost city and get to see another wonder of the world with my own eyes.

I flew into Amman airport where we had to take a 3 hour drive to Petra. I decided to stay in Petra for 2 nights at the Petra Bubble Luxotel.

Petra BUbble Luxotel

One of the major highlights of my trip was the hotel I chose to stay at while in Petra. I had never stayed in a bubble hotel and have always wanted to. Although it was one of the more expensive options in town it was definitely worth the money. The hotel was only 20 minutes from the Entrance to the lost city. The staff provided great service and also helped us to set up tours and transportation.

Watching the sunset here 2 evenings was also pretty magical.

The Lost City of Petra

Located amid rugged desert canyons and mountains in what is now the southwestern corner of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was once a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106.

In 1985, the Petra Archaeological Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2007 it was named one of the new seven wonders of the world.

My hotel provided us with a choice to enter the site from the back entrance because it was an easier route.

The Monastery

Since we went into Petra through the back trail the first structure we encountered was the Monastery. Hidden high in the hills, the Monastery is one of the legendary monuments of Petra. Similar in design to the Treasury but far bigger (50m wide and 45m high), it was built in the 3rd century BCE as a Nabataean tomb.

It took us approximately 5 hours to walk through the whole city from the back entrance to the main entrance. The scenery was quite beautiful. You could also choose to ride a donkey, camel or horse if you wanted to cut down some walking time.

The Theatre can house an impressive 8,500 people, and is the only theater to be built into a rock.

There are many paths and trails that you could walk in the city. You could literally spend a whole day there with different areas of ruins.

The treasury

The treasury is a another major structure in the city. It is almost 40 meters high and intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes, figures and more. The Treasury is crowned by a funerary urn, which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh’s treasure. Although the original function is still a mystery, The Treasury was probably constructed in the 1st century BC, However, in reality the urn represented a memorial for royalty. The Treasury consists of two floors with a width of 25.30 meters and a height of 39.1 meters.

The purpose of the Treasury is unclear: some archaeologists believed it to be a temple, while others thought it was a place to store documents. However, the most recent excavation here has unearthed a graveyard beneath the Treasury.

The view of the Treasury is breathtaking, even though you know what it looks like from photos that plaster the internet and guidebooks. There is something about finally seeing it with your own eyes that really does take your breath away.

I also chose to pay a guide and hike up about 15 minutes to the viewpoint overlooking the Treasury. This hike was slightly difficult but absolutely worth it.

The Treasury at Night

During my last evening, I decided to go back to Petra at night where they allow you to walk to the Treasury. They pass around tea and a bedouin plays some music for about an hour or so. It was very beautiful to see to see the structure lit up at night.

Wadi Rum Desert

When I decided to go to Jordan I was interested to see if there was anything to do besides visit the Lost City of Petra and found Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum also known as the Valley of the Moon, is known for its red-pink sands, stunning natural arches and mountains, and prehistoric rock engravings. This desert was a 2.5 hour drive from our hotel in Petra.

Upon arrival I was glad I chose to go there because the views were quite special; I felt like on was Mars. Also, I learned that a few major movies were filmed here including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Prometheus, Red Planet, The Last Days on Mars, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Passion in the Desert and The Martian.

PetroGlyphs in Wadi Rum

Our tour guide told us that Petroglyphs and inscriptions could be found all around this desert. Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving and abrading with something like a stone chisel. Inscriptions are characters. These are created in the same way as petroglyphs.

Some of the petroglyphs we were shown were drawings of humans and animals. They show human figures holding bows and arrows. Other figures are the ones of animals like camel, ibex and horse. And alongside these figures are symbols like lines and circles. We were told they are thought to be instructions and message left by the people for one another.

We were also taken to another area of the desert that had carvings of 3 faces. It has been said that the rock carvings marks the meeting place of Lawrence of Arabia and Arab leaders, whose faces are also carved there.